Bledisloe 1
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@Crucial said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@Crucial said in Bledisloe 1:
@Billy-Tell said in Bledisloe 1:
Hmmm. I see the akira is awesome posts again. Bloody well show us please akira with a dominant display off the bench rather than an ok-ish one.
TBF there’s only one poster dying on that hill.
He’s a good player no doubt but the fact is that it’s not just Foster but Ryan as well that can see that he doesn’t match the desire for a straight running charger. They want someone that tackles with their shoulder more than their arms and drives with their legs in contact rather than trying to step.
No, just one that can be bothered arguing with the usual suspects about it.
Everything you wrote up there describes Akira's game. FFS.
We must have our players mixed up then
No, just that you are pretty wrong (as usual) about how he plays.
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@Crucial said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@Crucial said in Bledisloe 1:
@Billy-Tell said in Bledisloe 1:
Hmmm. I see the akira is awesome posts again. Bloody well show us please akira with a dominant display off the bench rather than an ok-ish one.
TBF there’s only one poster dying on that hill.
He’s a good player no doubt but the fact is that it’s not just Foster but Ryan as well that can see that he doesn’t match the desire for a straight running charger. They want someone that tackles with their shoulder more than their arms and drives with their legs in contact rather than trying to step.
No, just one that can be bothered arguing with the usual suspects about it.
Everything you wrote up there describes Akira's game. FFS.
We must have our players mixed up then
No, just that you are pretty wrong (as usual) about how he plays.
OK thanks. I'll let Jase Ryan know as well.
The selectors have been really clear about the style and attributes they want from their 6 and by their actions they agree with me. You seem to be the only one that sees Akira differently.
As I have said numerous times, he is a good player. Just plays differently to what they want. -
@KiwiMurph said in Bledisloe 1:
This doesn't get much better for the All Blacks IF and it's a big IF we can actually string two good performances together.
Pack rejigged and no Tupou, backline even more rejigged with a new First Five, inexperienced centre pairing, Nick White on the bench. This is a walk-up if ever there was a walk-up.
We win this, takes the pressure off at Eden Park and allows us to play more of the squad players.
@TheMojoman said in Bledisloe 1:
takes the pressure off at Eden Park and allows us to play more of the squad players
Have we already lost the EP record? Because if not, I really don't think that's correct.
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@Nepia im grasping at straws here but i thought he played much better than expected last time he played at 6?....didn;t he?
@Kiwiwomble said in Bledisloe 1:
@Nepia im grasping at straws here but i thought he played much better than expected last time he played at 6?....didn;t he?
I actually think his game against England was better than this year, but he's still not a 6.
@Winger said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kiwiwomble said in Bledisloe 1:
@Nepia im grasping at straws here but i thought he played much better than expected last time he played at 6?....didn;t he?
Thats as I remember it. The consensus was he went well
Bro, I posted a few weeks back that I think the Fern has lost the plot with the consensus rating of Scooter this year. As discussed then he seems to look the part more than be the part. But he's had low metres and high missed tackle stats a few times this year while appearing regularly in the MOTM voting.
Anyway, I hope he lives up to the hype and has a good game on Thursday.
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@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@mariner4life said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan i don't think you can play Savea and Akira in the same starting pack even behind teh england 2003 tight 5.
I don't give a shit about the chat on here. the only thing SF did was smack rucks and run straight, oh and tackle with a shoulder. Far from perfect but it made the team better. Akira might want to think about that.
See this is the silliness I'm talking about. Akira has done everything that Frizzell has done recently (with the exception of throwing away tries), including tackling hard and running hard (once through four Irish defenders for a try).
Savea and Akira have combined well on many occasions, this is a classic Fern myth brewing. One of the dumber ones too.
to how many fucking losses??
Fuck i'm starting to see where the Cantabs are coming from
You of all people know i'm a fan. BUT, and there is a huge but, just perhaps how the guy plays doesn't translate to the team playing well. Is he a "better" 6 than Barrett? I believe yes. Is the way he plays 6 the best for THIS AB team? perhaps not.
That one half he played v Ireland was inspired. Has he reached those heights again? No. Has the AB play looked the best in the games he hasn't played? yes
Draw your own conclusions. I'm out
@mariner4life said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@mariner4life said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan i don't think you can play Savea and Akira in the same starting pack even behind teh england 2003 tight 5.
I don't give a shit about the chat on here. the only thing SF did was smack rucks and run straight, oh and tackle with a shoulder. Far from perfect but it made the team better. Akira might want to think about that.
See this is the silliness I'm talking about. Akira has done everything that Frizzell has done recently (with the exception of throwing away tries), including tackling hard and running hard (once through four Irish defenders for a try).
Savea and Akira have combined well on many occasions, this is a classic Fern myth brewing. One of the dumber ones too.
to how many fucking losses??
Fuck i'm starting to see where the Cantabs are coming from
You of all people know i'm a fan. BUT, and there is a huge but, just perhaps how the guy plays doesn't translate to the team playing well. Is he a "better" 6 than Barrett? I believe yes. Is the way he plays 6 the best for THIS AB team? perhaps not.
That one half he played v Ireland was inspired. Has he reached those heights again? No. Has the AB play looked the best in the games he hasn't played? yes
Draw your own conclusions. I'm out
I dunno man, our worst loss of the year was against a very limited Argentinian side at home. There's absolutely no excuse for that, and both SF and SB played in that loss.
The loosies are really the backs of the forward pack. If the tight 5 does their job they tend to shine (e.g. SA 2), and when they don't the loosies generally struggle (e.g. v Ireland).
Akira has been good this year and is absolutely not the reason for the ABs poor performances. Frizell lives a fucking charmed life in the black jersey.
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@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@Crucial said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@Crucial said in Bledisloe 1:
@Billy-Tell said in Bledisloe 1:
Hmmm. I see the akira is awesome posts again. Bloody well show us please akira with a dominant display off the bench rather than an ok-ish one.
TBF there’s only one poster dying on that hill.
He’s a good player no doubt but the fact is that it’s not just Foster but Ryan as well that can see that he doesn’t match the desire for a straight running charger. They want someone that tackles with their shoulder more than their arms and drives with their legs in contact rather than trying to step.
No, just one that can be bothered arguing with the usual suspects about it.
Everything you wrote up there describes Akira's game. FFS.
We must have our players mixed up then
No, just that you are pretty wrong (as usual) about how he plays.
OK thanks. I'll let Jase Ryan know as well.
The selectors have been really clear about the style and attributes they want from their 6 and by their actions they agree with me. You seem to be the only one that sees Akira differently.
As I have said numerous times, he is a good player. Just plays differently to what they want.@Crucial said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@Crucial said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@Crucial said in Bledisloe 1:
@Billy-Tell said in Bledisloe 1:
Hmmm. I see the akira is awesome posts again. Bloody well show us please akira with a dominant display off the bench rather than an ok-ish one.
TBF there’s only one poster dying on that hill.
He’s a good player no doubt but the fact is that it’s not just Foster but Ryan as well that can see that he doesn’t match the desire for a straight running charger. They want someone that tackles with their shoulder more than their arms and drives with their legs in contact rather than trying to step.
No, just one that can be bothered arguing with the usual suspects about it.
Everything you wrote up there describes Akira's game. FFS.
We must have our players mixed up then
No, just that you are pretty wrong (as usual) about how he plays.
OK thanks. I'll let Jase Ryan know as well.
The selectors have been really clear about the style and attributes they want from their 6 and by their actions they agree with me. You seem to be the only one that sees Akira differently.
As I have said numerous times, he is a good player. Just plays differently to what they want.No, plenty of agreement just a vocal minority shouts down everyone else.
Not sure if using one of the worst coaches in AB history agreeing with you is a smart argument tactic.
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@mariner4life said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@mariner4life said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan i don't think you can play Savea and Akira in the same starting pack even behind teh england 2003 tight 5.
I don't give a shit about the chat on here. the only thing SF did was smack rucks and run straight, oh and tackle with a shoulder. Far from perfect but it made the team better. Akira might want to think about that.
See this is the silliness I'm talking about. Akira has done everything that Frizzell has done recently (with the exception of throwing away tries), including tackling hard and running hard (once through four Irish defenders for a try).
Savea and Akira have combined well on many occasions, this is a classic Fern myth brewing. One of the dumber ones too.
to how many fucking losses??
Fuck i'm starting to see where the Cantabs are coming from
You of all people know i'm a fan. BUT, and there is a huge but, just perhaps how the guy plays doesn't translate to the team playing well. Is he a "better" 6 than Barrett? I believe yes. Is the way he plays 6 the best for THIS AB team? perhaps not.
That one half he played v Ireland was inspired. Has he reached those heights again? No. Has the AB play looked the best in the games he hasn't played? yes
Draw your own conclusions. I'm out
I dunno man, our worst loss of the year was against a very limited Argentinian side at home. There's absolutely no excuse for that, and both SF and SB played in that loss.
The loosies are really the backs of the forward pack. If the tight 5 does their job they tend to shine (e.g. SA 2), and when they don't the loosies generally struggle (e.g. v Ireland).
Akira has been good this year and is absolutely not the reason for the ABs poor performances. Frizell lives a fucking charmed life in the black jersey.
@No-Quarter said in Bledisloe 1:
@mariner4life said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@mariner4life said in Bledisloe 1:
@Kirwan i don't think you can play Savea and Akira in the same starting pack even behind teh england 2003 tight 5.
I don't give a shit about the chat on here. the only thing SF did was smack rucks and run straight, oh and tackle with a shoulder. Far from perfect but it made the team better. Akira might want to think about that.
See this is the silliness I'm talking about. Akira has done everything that Frizzell has done recently (with the exception of throwing away tries), including tackling hard and running hard (once through four Irish defenders for a try).
Savea and Akira have combined well on many occasions, this is a classic Fern myth brewing. One of the dumber ones too.
to how many fucking losses??
Fuck i'm starting to see where the Cantabs are coming from
You of all people know i'm a fan. BUT, and there is a huge but, just perhaps how the guy plays doesn't translate to the team playing well. Is he a "better" 6 than Barrett? I believe yes. Is the way he plays 6 the best for THIS AB team? perhaps not.
That one half he played v Ireland was inspired. Has he reached those heights again? No. Has the AB play looked the best in the games he hasn't played? yes
Draw your own conclusions. I'm out
I dunno man, our worst loss of the year was against a very limited Argentinian side at home. There's absolutely no excuse for that, and both SF and SB played in that loss.
The loosies are really the backs of the forward pack. If the tight 5 does their job they tend to shine (e.g. SA 2), and when they don't the loosies generally struggle (e.g. v Ireland).
Akira has been good this year and is absolutely not the reason for the ABs poor performances. Frizell lives a fucking charmed life in the black jersey.
Exactly.
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I'm firmly on the fence in the Frizzell v Ioane debate. Prior to this RC I was all Ioane. But I have seen stuff recently from Frizzell that has impressed me - mostly intent to be honest, the willingness to cart the ball up relentlessly. Has he made mistakes? Yep. Is he a game-breaker? No. Is he a bad human? Yeah, not ideal.
But to throw some stats in there, SA 1 AO carried 4 times for 10m. Made 8 tackles. SA 2 Frizzell carried 8 times for 44m - and it was really fucking noticeable. To be honest, I didn't think his yardage was as high as that (and maybe just related to playing with more depth) - but it was clear that he was forcing defenders to make tackles repeatedly, and often 2 at a time. I loved the directness of his play. He also made 8 tackles that game.
Fast forward to ARG 1 and the team was rubbish. Yet Friz ran 8 times again for 30m - the highest gains of any forward (Ardie 2nd with 11 for 28m). Only 5 tackles with a key miss for a poor mark in that column.
Arg 2 I can discount the offense a bit cos the tight 5 were so fucken awesome and the game opened up and the backs got to play, but he still carried 4 times for 20m. Another couple of missed tackles to the negative.
Anyway, that was a long-winded way of saying that I think Frizzell has made progress, largely with his intent in attack. He plays very tight and runs very direct - which is maybe exactly what the coaches like with Ardie out there. He is certainly not a game-breaker, and he has made mistakes on defense. But for me he's been a shitload better in black than he has in previous appearances. Is he better than AO? I dunno TBH. Maybe it's horses for courses. Certainly you'd rather have AO off the bench than SF if you're seeking genuine impact. But for the first 50mins, its now closer than I'd have said a few weeks ago,.
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I'm firmly on the fence in the Frizzell v Ioane debate. Prior to this RC I was all Ioane. But I have seen stuff recently from Frizzell that has impressed me - mostly intent to be honest, the willingness to cart the ball up relentlessly. Has he made mistakes? Yep. Is he a game-breaker? No. Is he a bad human? Yeah, not ideal.
But to throw some stats in there, SA 1 AO carried 4 times for 10m. Made 8 tackles. SA 2 Frizzell carried 8 times for 44m - and it was really fucking noticeable. To be honest, I didn't think his yardage was as high as that (and maybe just related to playing with more depth) - but it was clear that he was forcing defenders to make tackles repeatedly, and often 2 at a time. I loved the directness of his play. He also made 8 tackles that game.
Fast forward to ARG 1 and the team was rubbish. Yet Friz ran 8 times again for 30m - the highest gains of any forward (Ardie 2nd with 11 for 28m). Only 5 tackles with a key miss for a poor mark in that column.
Arg 2 I can discount the offense a bit cos the tight 5 were so fucken awesome and the game opened up and the backs got to play, but he still carried 4 times for 20m. Another couple of missed tackles to the negative.
Anyway, that was a long-winded way of saying that I think Frizzell has made progress, largely with his intent in attack. He plays very tight and runs very direct - which is maybe exactly what the coaches like with Ardie out there. He is certainly not a game-breaker, and he has made mistakes on defense. But for me he's been a shitload better in black than he has in previous appearances. Is he better than AO? I dunno TBH. Maybe it's horses for courses. Certainly you'd rather have AO off the bench than SF if you're seeking genuine impact. But for the first 50mins, its now closer than I'd have said a few weeks ago,.
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Ethan Blackadder was in better form than the pair of them.
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Ethan Blackadder was in better form than the pair of them.
@Mattasaurus said in Bledisloe 1:
Ethan Blackadder was in better form than the pair of them.
I think it is better to have a quarrel to the death over currently available players or we will never hear the end of it.
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I can't be accused of being a fan of Frizell (or Foster) but I admit when SF came back he played well at 6. But the last games against Australia, Akira terrorized them. I'd be more inclined to play him in the first game, at least.
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I'm firmly on the fence in the Frizzell v Ioane debate. Prior to this RC I was all Ioane. But I have seen stuff recently from Frizzell that has impressed me - mostly intent to be honest, the willingness to cart the ball up relentlessly. Has he made mistakes? Yep. Is he a game-breaker? No. Is he a bad human? Yeah, not ideal.
But to throw some stats in there, SA 1 AO carried 4 times for 10m. Made 8 tackles. SA 2 Frizzell carried 8 times for 44m - and it was really fucking noticeable. To be honest, I didn't think his yardage was as high as that (and maybe just related to playing with more depth) - but it was clear that he was forcing defenders to make tackles repeatedly, and often 2 at a time. I loved the directness of his play. He also made 8 tackles that game.
Fast forward to ARG 1 and the team was rubbish. Yet Friz ran 8 times again for 30m - the highest gains of any forward (Ardie 2nd with 11 for 28m). Only 5 tackles with a key miss for a poor mark in that column.
Arg 2 I can discount the offense a bit cos the tight 5 were so fucken awesome and the game opened up and the backs got to play, but he still carried 4 times for 20m. Another couple of missed tackles to the negative.
Anyway, that was a long-winded way of saying that I think Frizzell has made progress, largely with his intent in attack. He plays very tight and runs very direct - which is maybe exactly what the coaches like with Ardie out there. He is certainly not a game-breaker, and he has made mistakes on defense. But for me he's been a shitload better in black than he has in previous appearances. Is he better than AO? I dunno TBH. Maybe it's horses for courses. Certainly you'd rather have AO off the bench than SF if you're seeking genuine impact. But for the first 50mins, its now closer than I'd have said a few weeks ago,.
@voodoo said in Bledisloe 1:
I'm firmly on the fence in the Frizzell v Ioane debate. Prior to this RC I was all Ioane. But I have seen stuff recently from Frizzell that has impressed me - mostly intent to be honest, the willingness to cart the ball up relentlessly. Has he made mistakes? Yep. Is he a game-breaker? No. Is he a bad human? Yeah, not ideal.
But to throw some stats in there, SA 1 AO carried 4 times for 10m. Made 8 tackles. SA 2 Frizzell carried 8 times for 44m - and it was really fucking noticeable. To be honest, I didn't think his yardage was as high as that (and maybe just related to playing with more depth) - but it was clear that he was forcing defenders to make tackles repeatedly, and often 2 at a time. I loved the directness of his play. He also made 8 tackles that game.
Fast forward to ARG 1 and the team was rubbish. Yet Friz ran 8 times again for 30m - the highest gains of any forward (Ardie 2nd with 11 for 28m). Only 5 tackles with a key miss for a poor mark in that column.
Arg 2 I can discount the offense a bit cos the tight 5 were so fucken awesome and the game opened up and the backs got to play, but he still carried 4 times for 20m. Another couple of missed tackles to the negative.
Anyway, that was a long-winded way of saying that I think Frizzell has made progress, largely with his intent in attack. He plays very tight and runs very direct - which is maybe exactly what the coaches like with Ardie out there. He is certainly not a game-breaker, and he has made mistakes on defense. But for me he's been a shitload better in black than he has in previous appearances. Is he better than AO? I dunno TBH. Maybe it's horses for courses. Certainly you'd rather have AO off the bench than SF if you're seeking genuine impact. But for the first 50mins, its now closer than I'd have said a few weeks ago,.
Gosh that’s a lot of logic for the Akira brigade to try and take in.
Can we agree that Frizell/Ioane are certainly no Jerome Kaino.
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@voodoo if we going to look at stats, let’s look at the last Irish game when we were getting pumped up front.
14 runs for 73m. 11 tackles 1 miss.
Frizzels stats when he gets a good performance in front of him are pretty average.
@Kirwan said in Bledisloe 1:
@voodoo if we going to look at stats, let’s look at the last Irish game when we were getting pumped up front.
14 runs for 73m. 11 tackles 1 miss.
Frizzels stats when he gets a good performance in front of him are pretty average.
Couldn't find that series on ESPN!
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https://all.rugby/player/akira-ioane 27y, 1.94m 113kg Blues (2014 - 2022)
Occupied positions by Akira on start team :
Back Row : 80 times ( Number 8 59%, Blindside Flanker 41% )
94(67 starts) games for Blues 130 pts 2YC
18(13 starts) for NZ 5 pts NO YC
https://all.rugby/player/shannon-frizell 28y, 1.95m 108kg Highlanders (2017 - 2022)
Occupied positions by Shannon on start team :
Back Row: 56 times ( Blindside Flanker 98%, Number 8 2% )
58(40 starts) games for Highlanders 90 pts 1 YC
21(16 starts) for NZ 20 pts 2 YC -
@voodoo said in Bledisloe 1:
I'm firmly on the fence in the Frizzell v Ioane debate. Prior to this RC I was all Ioane. But I have seen stuff recently from Frizzell that has impressed me - mostly intent to be honest, the willingness to cart the ball up relentlessly. Has he made mistakes? Yep. Is he a game-breaker? No. Is he a bad human? Yeah, not ideal.
But to throw some stats in there, SA 1 AO carried 4 times for 10m. Made 8 tackles. SA 2 Frizzell carried 8 times for 44m - and it was really fucking noticeable. To be honest, I didn't think his yardage was as high as that (and maybe just related to playing with more depth) - but it was clear that he was forcing defenders to make tackles repeatedly, and often 2 at a time. I loved the directness of his play. He also made 8 tackles that game.
Fast forward to ARG 1 and the team was rubbish. Yet Friz ran 8 times again for 30m - the highest gains of any forward (Ardie 2nd with 11 for 28m). Only 5 tackles with a key miss for a poor mark in that column.
Arg 2 I can discount the offense a bit cos the tight 5 were so fucken awesome and the game opened up and the backs got to play, but he still carried 4 times for 20m. Another couple of missed tackles to the negative.
Anyway, that was a long-winded way of saying that I think Frizzell has made progress, largely with his intent in attack. He plays very tight and runs very direct - which is maybe exactly what the coaches like with Ardie out there. He is certainly not a game-breaker, and he has made mistakes on defense. But for me he's been a shitload better in black than he has in previous appearances. Is he better than AO? I dunno TBH. Maybe it's horses for courses. Certainly you'd rather have AO off the bench than SF if you're seeking genuine impact. But for the first 50mins, its now closer than I'd have said a few weeks ago,.
Gosh that’s a lot of logic for the Akira brigade to try and take in.
Can we agree that Frizell/Ioane are certainly no Jerome Kaino.
@MN5 said in Bledisloe 1:
mostly intent to be honest, the willingness to cart the ball up relentlessly. Has he made mistakes? Yep. Is he a game-breaker? No. Is he a bad human? Yeah, not ideal.
This made me laugh. Ringing endorsement that.
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@MN5 said in Bledisloe 1:
mostly intent to be honest, the willingness to cart the ball up relentlessly. Has he made mistakes? Yep. Is he a game-breaker? No. Is he a bad human? Yeah, not ideal.
This made me laugh. Ringing endorsement that.
@Derpus said in Bledisloe 1:
@MN5 said in Bledisloe 1:
mostly intent to be honest, the willingness to cart the ball up relentlessly. Has he made mistakes? Yep. Is he a game-breaker? No. Is he a bad human? Yeah, not ideal.
This made me laugh. Ringing endorsement that.
I can see my name but not what I said. Still, I’ll take the credit anyway.
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@game_film said in Bledisloe 1:
Looking forward to seeing Hoskins launch a 40m pass off his left for a try. Hope he goes well.
ill be more impressed if his defence and ball carrying is up to the required levels
@ploughboy Where’s the fun in defence and ball carrying? :winking_face:
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@MN5 said in Bledisloe 1:
mostly intent to be honest, the willingness to cart the ball up relentlessly. Has he made mistakes? Yep. Is he a game-breaker? No. Is he a bad human? Yeah, not ideal.
This made me laugh. Ringing endorsement that.
@Derpus said in Bledisloe 1:
@MN5 said in Bledisloe 1:
mostly intent to be honest, the willingness to cart the ball up relentlessly. Has he made mistakes? Yep. Is he a game-breaker? No. Is he a bad human? Yeah, not ideal.
This made me laugh. Ringing endorsement that.
Yeah…definitely a sign of how thin our ranks are in some positions
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I can't be accused of being a fan of Frizell (or Foster) but I admit when SF came back he played well at 6. But the last games against Australia, Akira terrorized them. I'd be more inclined to play him in the first game, at least.
@nostrildamus said in Bledisloe 1:
I can't be accused of being a fan of Frizell (or Foster) but I admit when SF came back he played well at 6. But the last games against Australia, Akira terrorized them. I'd be more inclined to play him in the first game, at least.
Frizell isn't actually capable of a performance like that
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@TheMojoman said in Bledisloe 1:
@KiwiMurph said in Bledisloe 1:
Barrett's mobility should be tested under the roof against that mobile Aussie team named. Will be a good barometer.
The question for Akira this week is when is he introduced? We know Cane typically gets subbed around the 60/65 minute mark for Papali'i but it will be interesting when Akira is brought on (and for who).
Wrong test for Barrett to be playing 6 IMO. Would’ve been better vs Boks & start Akira this week against Wallabies. At least Akira/Papali’i are coming off bench and likely at the same time. Tell Cane/Barrett to empty tank over 50mins then make way.
Other than that I like the look of the team overall. It has a consistent look to it and fatigue shouldn’t be too much of an issue given the breaks between the SA and Argies series.I’d be pretty surprised if Cane only plays 50 minutes.
I think Barrett with Cane and Hoskins has excellent balance and to take on this Wallaby side.
@ACT-Crusader said in Bledisloe 1:
@TheMojoman said in Bledisloe 1:
@KiwiMurph said in Bledisloe 1:
Barrett's mobility should be tested under the roof against that mobile Aussie team named. Will be a good barometer.
The question for Akira this week is when is he introduced? We know Cane typically gets subbed around the 60/65 minute mark for Papali'i but it will be interesting when Akira is brought on (and for who).
Wrong test for Barrett to be playing 6 IMO. Would’ve been better vs Boks & start Akira this week against Wallabies. At least Akira/Papali’i are coming off bench and likely at the same time. Tell Cane/Barrett to empty tank over 50mins then make way.
Other than that I like the look of the team overall. It has a consistent look to it and fatigue shouldn’t be too much of an issue given the breaks between the SA and Argies series.I’d be pretty surprised if Cane only plays 50 minutes.
I think Barrett with Cane and Hoskins has excellent balance and to take on this Wallaby side.
Just thinking of Cane’s workload so far.
IMO they were better off with Akira at 6 versus Wallabies. Wallaby pack not as muscular as Boks and Akira has played really well against them. Perhaps the wet track that’s forecasted convinced them to go Barrett?
